With the Celtics and Red Sox not playing until later today, it appears that this Saturday morning should be used for some football talk! Thus, I introduce to you the first ever "Saturday Morning Coffee", a weekly discussion question that will be up every Saturday morning about various offseason topics.

This week's topic is all about the rookies, as they began their first minicamp at Dana Farber Field House at Gillette Stadium on Friday afternoon. Those who highlighted the first ever organized rookie gathering were prized first round picks Chandler Jones and Dont'a Hightower, and the highly questioned-second round choice Tavon Wilson. Those three were joined by five other draftees, along with seven URFA that team signed.

For the fans, this is an early stage in the long process we take to evaluate players. We'll begin to see if these guys can really live up to their reputations that got them here, and progress towards the next level in order to help the Patriots progress as a team.

While the obvious three intriguing players coming into this are Jones, Hightower and Wilson; there are other players that are worth receiving some hype. Here is the full list of rookies in camp this weekend:

Vote on the Patriots rookie that you are most excited about, After the jump!

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When the season ended, it seemed that one of the more unstable positions on the football field for the Patriots was their receiving corps. Wes Welker and Deion Branch were both slated to go to free agency, Chad Ochocinco was coming off an awful campaign, and they guys like Tiquan Underwood that were being used as immediate depth. But we now sit in mid-May, and wideout is one of the solidified positions they have.

Both Welker and Branch were brought back for at least another year, and the team also added guys like Brandon Lloyd, Jabar Gaffney, Donte Stallworth and Anthony Gonzalez. One man who was used to having depth to work with at receiver in 2007 was offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, who had Welker, Gaffney, Stallworth as well as Randy Moss to make plays for. As McDaniels tells WEEI's Christopher Price, he's really excited to have all this depth at receiver, once again.

"It's going to be an exciting thing for us to watch and see how it all develops, because we have some guys that can do some different things," McDaniels said Friday afternoon at Gillette Stadium.

"I think that makes for great competition. I know every year, we talk about having great competition at every spot, and the receiver position is certainly going to be filled with that. We have a ton of guys here, working hard and making sure they're ready for [organized team activities] in the spring. We're going to give them all an opportunity. I don't think you want to assume too many things. Let them go back out there and demonstrate what they know, what they can do, what they can provide our team, and let the competition play out."

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On Friday, we all got our first look of the new members of the New England Patriots, on field at Dana Farber Field House at Gillette Stadium for the 2012 Patriots Rookie Minicamp.

During the draft, defense was the primary concern, as the Patriots traded up twice in the first round to select Syracuse defensive end Chandler Jones at No. 21 and Alabama linebacker Dont'a Hightower at No. 25 overall. The team went on to make some great value in selecting Arkansas DE/OLB Jake Bequette in the third round and Nebraska cornerback Alfonzo Dennard in the seventh round. Second round pick Tavon Wilson was the most questionable pick of them all, as he was viewed by many as a potential undrafted free agent.

But talk is talk. These players got their chance today to give the Patriots coaching staff a solid first impression about how they can contribute to a team that is looking to get back to the Super Bowl in 2012. Just prior to the start of their workouts, some of the participants spoke with the media about their first impressions about beginning their first official pro practice. For Chandler Jones, it's all about making that first impression.

"A lot of people tell me I only get the opportunity to make one first impression. This week is my opportunity to make a first impression," Jones said. "What I'm trying to do is learn this playbook and impress the coaches."

"[I need to] learn all the do's and don't's. Be a sponge," Jones said. "Know your role and just earn the respect from everyone."

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It appears that the Patriots have signed their first draft pick of 2012. According to sources reporting to Christopher Price of WEEI, the New England Patriots and second round selection Tavon Wilson have agreed to a four-year, $4.2 million contract. The former Illinois defensive back will earn a projected $1.5 million bonus.

Wilson was chosen by the Patriots at No. 48 overall, which was considered a stretch by many people around the league. But when it's Bill Belichick controlling the board, you just don't know who will be the pick. He was an all-Big Ten honorable mention in both 2011 and 2010. He served as the Illini's captain last season, and totaled 81 tackles from the free safety position.

Wilson was one of six defensive players that were chosen by New England during the draft, and one of three defensive backs. He's by far the most questionable pick that the Patriots had during this year's draft, and he'll look to prove his worth to a team who's secondary is in need of a boost.

Tom E. Curran notes Veteran OL Robert Gallery has never played for a team with an over-.500 record in the NFL.

"I knew a lot about this place when I was in college [at Iowa] with Coach [Kirk] Ferentz and his relationship [with Bill Belichick]," explained Gallery, the second overall pick in the 2004 draft. "It's a place that's run right and the tradition's right and they're all about winning. Going through eight years of never having a winning season, that's something you really covet when you get to this point, so that's why I'm here."

"This was an easy decision," said Gallery, a player that the Patriots' organization thought very highly of since he was in college. "We heard from these guys first and it was a fast decision for me because this has been a goal for a while and obviously when they reached out it was a done deal after we talked about it.

'It was a good fit for both of us, I was excited when I got the call. It's a place I've known about since college and that I've always wanted to be a part of and it worked out.

"[Winning] is one of the big reasons that I came here because we've never had a winning season in my eight years and obviously that's why you play this game and that's a very big part of my deciding to come here."

Christopher Price reports Paul Haynes, who worked with Jake Bequette at Arkansas, says Patriots will love his versatility and maturity.

"He does have that flexibility the Patriots love," said Haynes, who also served as a collegiate coach for the Patriots’ sixth-round pick Nate Ebner at Ohio State before he left for the Razorbacks.

"He can play over a tight end — he’s big and physical enough to do that, but he’s also athletic enough to drop into coverage. Jake is a big body that’s athletic," Haynes said. "Whatever the Patriots want to do make him and mold him into, you can do those things with him. You can move him inside. You can move him outside. You can do whatever."

"He made the transition [to the new coaching staff] really easy for me. It could have been really different, especially with those guys who were seniors, but what he did to make things easier was incredible," Haynes said of Bequette. "I’ve always thought that because of everything he brings, including his leadership qualities, he’s going to be successful, even if he didn’t play football.

"There are guys you like to coach, who give you reasons to keep showing up in the office, even when you do want to," he added. "Jake is one of those guys. He will do what you tell him to do. You don’t have to worry about him when he leaves the facility. He’ll be a great player and a great teammate in New England."

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On Thursday, the New England Patriots announced more details about their 2012 coaching staff under the direction of head coach Bill Belichick.

For the first time since 2010, the Patriots will operate (officially) with a defensive coordinator, as they named Matt Patricia as the new head of the defense. Patricia, who has served as the team's linebacker coach and the safety's coach last season, has been calling the majority of the defensive plays for the past few seasons.

The team also announced that longtime defensive line coach Pepper Johnson and linebackers coach Patrick Graham will switch positions in 2012. Johnson, who has been coaching the Patriots' defensive line since 2004, won't be totally unfamiliar with his new position. Before that however, he coached their inside linebackers from 2001 to 2003. Graham, meanwhile will be coaching the big men up front for the first time since 2006, when he was the Richmond Spiders defensive line coach.

Brian Flores was named safeties coach and Josh Boyer was promoted to cornerbacks coach. Flores served as a defensive assistant last season, while Boyer has been working with the defensive backs since 2009, when he joined the staff.

In the midst of tight end coach Brian Ferentz's departure, the team decided to promote George Godsey to fill his place. Godsey was an offensive assistant for the Patriots in 2011.

As for the new additions to the staff, the Patriots have hired Joe Judge as a special teams assistant and Steve Belichick, son of Bill Belichick, as a coaching assistant. Judge worked on Nick Saban's staff at Alabama as a football analyst. Belichick, meanwhile is a first time coach after playing lacrosse and one year of football at Rutgers.

Check Out The Full Run-Down Of The Patriots 2012 Coaching Staff, After The Jump!

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